Method of forming athletic supporters



Nov. 17 925. 1,561,889

. J. L. STENGEL METHOD OF FORMING ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS Filed May 23, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 17,1925- 1,561,889 J. L. STENGEL METHOD OF FORMING ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS Filed May 25, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 5 mil/7 lllllllll $00" 9 zlnuenfot WSW Patented Nov. 17, 1925."

UNITED-STATES JOSEPH L. STENGEL, OFMIDDLESBORQ- xnnrnoxy, ASSIGNOR 'ro MARTIN-PAGE COMPANY, OF MIDDLESBORO, KENTUCKYQ L CORPORATION OF KENTUCKY.

METHOD OF FORMING ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS.

- Application filed May 23, 1925. -Serial No. 32,386.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that JOSEPH L. STENGEL, a citizen of the United States. residing at Mid-. dlesboro, in the county of Bell and State of 5 Kentucky, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Forming Athletic Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in methods of'forming athletic supporters generally, although from.

certain aspects the invention relates to methods of forming fiat seams employed in various garments.

Athletic supporters as heretofore constructed have been formed with lapped seams which have necessitated one face only being positioned in direct contact with-the wearer in order to avoid any chafing or rub bing which would otherwise occur should the reverse side of the supporter be placed in direct contact with the wearer. Further-v more, in supporters heretofore constructed elastic webbing has been employed, but the seams connecting the various sections of the webbing have not been constructed so as to retain the supporter in proper shape nor to prevent the cut ends of the sections fro projecting through such seams.

One of the important objects of my invention is to provide a method of forming a supporter in which each of the seams thereof includes adjacent webbing sections disposed in edge abutting relation whereby the supporter may be readily reversed and either face thereof employed in direct contact with the wearer Without any chafing or rubbing action resulting therefrom.

Another importantobject of theinvention is to provide a method of oining two elastic web sections by a seam which is so constructed as to not only cover the severed ends of the webbing, but also anchor the rubber strands of the webbingwhereby' they will be retained in their normal positions Whenever the webbing is subjected to longitudinal expansion.

Another object of the-invention lies in a 1netl1od of forming supporters which consists in forming a flat seam having a reinforcing tape secured along the cut edge portionof one of the webbing s'ectionsso as to prevent stretching of the webbing whereby said webbing will retain its original shape and whereby said tape will assume all strain which would otherwise be directed to said webbing. a

With these andother objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the sameconsists in the novel method herein after more fully described, illustrated and claimed. I

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of an athletic supporter constructed in accordance with my improved method.

Figure 2 is a plan view showing the two blanks from which the pouch is formed.-

Figure 3 is a similar view but showing the lower portions of the pouch sections after bin trimmed and the cut edges covered by stitc ies which secure inelastic tapes, along said edges.

Figure 4 'is a view showing the pouch sections secured by a line of stitches which retain the meeting edges. in abutting rela- 'tion, and also showing the upper cut edges thereof covered by a line of covering stitches which also secure an inelastic tape, along said out edges.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view show ing the seam connection between the pouch sections Fi ure' 6 is a plan View of the webbing formmg the side straps, the cut ends being covered by a line of stitches which also secure inelastic tapes along said cut edges.

Figure 7 is a detail bottom plan view showing the seam connection betweenthe side'straps and the pouch. I

Figure 8 is a plan view of the blank which forms the waist band, the cut ends being covered by stitches which also secure inelastic tapes along said cut edges.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail view showing the seam construction which connects the pouch and the belt.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic viewof the seam connecting the pouch and side straps.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic view showing a'modified formof seam. Q Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view showing another modified form of seam.

Figure/13 is a diagrammatic view of the seam connectionbetween the pouch sections.

- Figure 14 is a diagrammatic view showing the seam connection between the ends of the waist band.

Figure 15 is a diagrammaticview showing the seam connection between the waist band and one.of the straps, and

Figure 16 is a diagrammatic view showing the seam connection between the waist band and the pouch. I

Like reference numerals designate corrcsponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the athletic supporter which is made in accordance with my improved method is indicated as a whole by the reference letter A. This supporter is preferably formed throughout the elastic webbing sections and includes a Waist band B, a pouch C, and side straps D, D.

The Webbing sections are each formed of woven cloth and include a plurality of rubber strands 5 which extend longitudinally thereof, the longitudinal edges being selvages. Thus each section is capable of-longitudinal expansion but incapable of transverse expansion. It will therefore be understood that'if a section is cut across at any angle less than 90 degrees, the cut edge is.

' are properly anchored, any longitudinal expansion of a section will serve to pull said end portions of the strands towards the center of the section, i. e., away from the cut edge of the section. The effect of this movenient of the strands is to reduce theelastic efliciency of the section, to change the shape of the section, and to produce a wavy and therefore objectionable appearance to said section.

In carrying out my method I preferably first construct the pouch C, then join the side straps to thepouch, then join the pouch to the waist band, then join the side straps to the waist band, and finally close the ends of the waist band. The method employed in joining all of these parts is such as to produce fiat seams in which the adjacent edges of the parts so seamed are disposed in abutting relation. These seams, therefore,

' permit of the. supporter being readily reversed and also prevent any chafing or rubbing action on the wearer regardless of which face of the supporter is in direct con tact with said wearer.

- The pouch C is formed from two webbing sections 6, 6, the side straps D, D are preferably formed from a single elastic webbing section 7, and the belt B is preferably formed from a single elastic Webbing section 8.

The pouch sections 6, 6 are first cut from a webbing and eachisection is then fed through an overlook sewing machine which includes a stitch forming mechanism for producing a line of over-edge stitches andv 21 trimming mechanism which is disposed in advance of the stitch forming mechanism for initially trimming the edge of the fabric prior to the covering thereof by said stitches. The lower portion of each section is cut transversely by said trimming mechanism on a curved line 7 which extends from one longitudinal edge of the section to the' jacent needle loops the needle thread is formed into covering loops 10 which extend laterally beyond and cover the cut edges of the section. The coverin loops 10 are concatenated along the cut e ge with the covering loops 11 formed by the looper thread 11, the looper thread loops being in turn concatenated with the needle thread loops on the outer'face of the section. The. inelastic tape 8 issimultaneous'ly secured along said out edge by the covering stitches 9, the needle thread loops 10 projecting through said tape and pouch section 6. Thus the needle thread loops serve to anchor the rubber strands 5 of the webbing against bodily movement when the webbing is expan ed longitudinally, and by reason of these needle thread loops and the looper thread loops extending over the cut edge of the section, the frayed ends of the woven cloth and the adjacent ends of the rubber strands are covered and are thereby held against working upwardly beyond the plane of either face of the section. The two pouch sections 6, 6 are then placed side by side with their meeting edges arranged in abutting relation and the sections are then secured together by a line of zig-zag stitches 12. This line of zig-zag stitches extends throughout the length of the pouch. These stitches include a needle thread 13 and a lower or looper thread 14, the needle thread being formed into a concatenated line of staggered needle thread loops 15 which alternately penetrate both tapes 8 and both pouch sections 6, the stitches extending entirely along the tapes 8 and thence upwardly along the meeting edges of the sections to the upper ends thereof. By thus curving the lower portions of the meeting edges of the pouch sections 6 and then joining said meeting edges by the line of the sections lengthwise of the cut edges will tions are covered by a continuous line of cov-- ering stitches 16, said covering stitches being identicalyin construction with the covering stitches 9 heretofore described. An inelastic tape 17 is simultaneously applied to one face of the pouch sections 6. This tape extends entirely across both sections, is positioned along the cut edges thereof, and is secured to the sections by the line of stitches 16.

Thus by means of the stitches 9 and the stitches 16, the opposite ends of the rubber ,strands 5 of both sections are anchored against bodily movement longitudinally. Therefore, when any longitudinal expansion is directed to either or both pouch sections, the rubber strands will be securely retained against said bodily movement.

The side straps D, D are preferably formed from the single blank or section of elastic webbing 7 The opposite ends of the blank are respectively fed through an overlook sewing machine of the type previously de-' scribed and as a resultan inelastic tape 18 is secured to each cut end by a line of covering stitches 19, the stitches being of the same character as the stitches 9 previously described. The blank or section 7 is preferably folded intermediate its ends as shown in Figures 7 and 10, and the folded edge portion is disposed in abutting relation to the lower 01' rear edge of the pouch C. The

, folded edge of the straps extend on opposite sides of the meeting e ges of the pouch sections 6, (3,and while the parts are held in this position they are fed through a zig-zag sewing machine whereby a line of zig-zag stitches 20 is caused to secure the side straps D, D to the pouch C. The zig-zag stitches 20 are of the same type as the zig-zag stitches 12 previously described.

' The waist band B is preferably formed from a single blank or section of elastic webbing 8. The opposite ends of the blank are respectively fed through an overlook sewing machine of the type previously described and as a result an inelastic tape 21 is secured to each cut end by a line'of covering stitches 22, the stitches being of the same character as the stitches 9 previously de- .The pouch C-is then positioned with its upper covered edges arranged in abutting relation to the lower edge of the waist band B, and the parts while held in this relation are fed through a zig-zag sewing machine and are thereby joined by a line of zig-zag stitches 23, said stitches being identical with the zigzag stitches 12 previously described.

The upper ends of the side straps D arethrough a zig-zag sewing machine which results In the parts being secured by a line .of zig-zag stitches 24 which are identical in construction with the zig-zag stitches 12.

The waist band B 15 then closed. that 1s,

the cut ends are disposed in abutting relation and while retained in this position are fed through a zig-Zag sewing machine which secures the parts in said abutted relation by a l'ne of zig-zag stitches It isto be noted that wherever parts are joined by a line of zig-zag stitches, and an inelastic tape is employed in the connection, the needle thread loops pass through the tape and the webbing sect ion directly thereunder.

iIt may be desired to use other forms of covering stitches. In Figure 11 I have diagrammatically illustrated another form of covering stitches, and in this figure 26 indicates one fabric and 27 another fabric, the edges being disposed in abutting relation. A tape 28 is secured to the fabric 26 by a line of triple interlock stitches which I have indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 29. These triple interlock stitches are produced by a triple interlock machine which includes three needles each carrying a thread,a threaded looper which cooperates with all three needles, and a cross stitch mechanism for laying one or more threads. This seam shows a plurality of needle thread loops 30, 31 and 32, a looper thread 33 concatenated therewith, and one or more cross threads 34, the looper thread being disposed against the under face of the fabric and the cross thread or threads 34 being laid against the outer face of the tape. The left hand needle thread loops 30 extend along the cut edge of the fabric 26.

1 In Figure 12 I have shown an overlook covering stitch 35 which is the same as shown and described in connection with Figure 15, except that in this form I have employed a separate line of stitches 36 which may be either of the single thread or two thread type. This line of stitches 36 includes needle parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, and finally joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of stitches.

2. The method of forming a pouch for athletic supporters consisting in first cut ting two sections from an elastic webbing, then cutting the lower portion of each section on a curve extending from one side edge of the section to the other, simultaneously securing an inelastic tape along said out edge by a line of stitches which cover said out edge and engage and anchor the elastic parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, and finally joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of stitches.

3. The method of forming a pouch for athletic supporters consisting in first cutting two sections from an elastic webbing,

then cutting the lower portion of each section on a'curve extending front one side edge of the section to the other and covering said out edge with a line of covering stitches which engage and anchor the elastic parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, and finally joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of zig-zag stitches including staggered needle thread loops alternately penetrating. said sections.

l. The method of forming a pouch for athletic supporters consisting in first cutting two sections from an elastic webbing, then cutting the lower portion of each sectionon a curve extending from one side edge of the section to the other and covering saidcut edge with a line of covering stitches which engage and anchor the elastic parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, then joining said sections along-their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a ,line of stitches, and finally securing a single inelasticv ta e along the upper cut edges of the sections y a line of stitches.

5. The method of forming a pouch .for

athletic supporters consisting in first cutting two sections from an elastic webbing, then cutting the lower portion of each section-on a curve extending from one side edge of the section to the other, simultaneously se, curing an inelastic tape along said out edge by a line of stitches which cover said out edge and engage and anchor the elastic parts.

of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, then joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a. line of stitches, and finally securing a single inelastic tape along the upper cut edges-of the sections by a line of stitches.

6. The method of forming an athletic supporter consisting in first forming a pouch .each section on a curve extending from oneside edge of the section to the other and covering said cut edge with a line of covering stitches which engage and anchor the elastic parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, then joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of stitches, then positioning the upper edges of the pouch sec-,

tions in abutting relation against the edge of a waist band, and finally joining said pouch and band by stitches while in said abntting relation.

7. The method of forming an athletic supporter consisting in first forming a pouch by first cutting two sections from an elastic webbing, then cutting the lower portion of each section on a curve extending from one side edge of the section to the other, simultaneously securing an inelastic tape along said out edge by a line of stitches which cover said out edge and engage and'anchor the elastic parts of the webbing, then position'in saidsections side by side with their edges abutting, then joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of stitches, then covering both upper cut edges of bothsections by a line of covering stitches, then positioning -the upper edges of the pouch sections in by first cutting two sections from an elastic webbing, then cutting the lower portion of each section on a curve extendin' from one side edge of the section to the ot er, simultaneously' securing an inelastic tape along saidcu't edge by a line, of stitches which cover said out edge and engage and anchor the elastic; parts of the webbing, then positioning said sections side by side with their edges abutting, then joining said sections along their meeting edges and their curved cut edges by a line of stitches, then securing an inelastic tapealong the cut edges of both sections by a line of stitches, then positioning the upper edges ofthe' pouch sections in abutting relation against-the edge of a waist band, and finally joining said pouch and band by stitches while in said abutting relation. j

9. The method of forming a reversible athletic supporter from cut sections of elascut edge of the pouch to the lower edge of the waist band and joining the same by a seam, then abutting-the cut edges of the side straps to the lower rear edge of the pouch and joining the same by aseam, and then separately abutting the upper cut edges of the side straps and the lower edge of the waist band and joining the same by seams, said method including the, formation of separate lines of stitches respectively extending transversely of certain of the sections adjacent the cut ends thereof for anchoring the elastic parts of said sections, said separate lines of anchoring stitches being formed prior to the joining of the sections.

10. The method of forming a reversible supporter comprising a pouch, a waist band, and side straps, consisting in first forming the pouch by joining the abutting edges of two sections arranged side by side b a seam, forming a line of stitches across t e upper portion of the pouch adjacent the cut edges thereof for anchoring the elastic parts of the webbing sections, then abutting the upper edge of the pouch to the waist band and joining the same by a seam, then forming separate lines of stitches respectively ex tending transversely of the side straps ad'- jacent the cut ends thereof to anchor the elastic parts of said straps, then abutting the side straps to the lower rear edge of the pouch and joining the same by a seam, and y then separately abutting the upper edges of the side straps to the waist band and joiningth'e same by seams.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

JOSEPH L. STENGEL. 

